Another spooky favorite is cartoonist Charles Addams.    He created the Addams family cartoon which later became a TV series, animations, live action movies, and a stage musical.  Addams brought the ghoulish and absurd into our everyday habitats, cities, and suburbs.   He started drawing cartoons in 1935 for the New Yorker and contributed to it for more than 50 years.  However, of his thousands of cartoons, the Addams family only appears in around 50.  His humor was subtle either in the wry captions or the characters’ juxtapositions within “normal” settings.  He brilliantly added to the definition of American Gothic.

American Gothic literature was born from puritanical ethos and anxiety of the unknow wilderness of the forming United States.  This ghoulish vision of condemnation reinforced by shame and guilt was fertile ground for Irving, Poe, and Hawthorne.  Later Darwinism adding to the gothic collective consciousness the ab-human, authors like Lovecraft and Shelly having us question what it is to be human.  These themes still resonate in modern literature like Interview with a Vampire and The Shining.   The beauty and twist with Addams are he knew how to traverse the line of the macabre and the “normal.”  Inverting the battle of good versus evil and coaxing the viewer to find common ground with our darker or absurd side of the psyche.  In essence he makes the viewer ponder the American Gothic that lies in all of us.

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

P.S. Signs with an * it is a big week for you.  Libra this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Aries it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.

Aries

Four of Pentacles – Last week’s energy was pushing you to harness your emotions and start creating momentum.  Using this Mars energy to your advantage to get a head start on 2021. This week the energy lessens but still the goal is the same. Make sure you allocate your finite resources to continue laying down the foundation for 2021 projects.  And be careful this week not spending money or time in frivolous endeavors.

Taurus

Queen of Wands – The energy this week is about creation, inspiration, and leadership.  Your tasks are to reflect and revise your mission statement.  What is your purpose?  What are you trying to convey?  Use this retrograde energy to recalibrate your goals to your message.

Gemini

Ace of Wands – Fresh starts this week are in abundance.  This muse asks you what would you do if your slate was clean?  Your answers will help define your next steps.

Cancer

Eight of Coins– The muse this week is here to help you hone your craft.  This can be how you make your money and/or what you do with your hands.  The more you focus on the details of your skills and tweak how you do things the easier your work begins to flow.

Leo

*Magician – You all are just banging out the karma and dharma cards the past 3 weeks.  So, you have been and will continue (if needed) working with energies about blocks, so you can jump with the elegance of a sleek black cat not knowing where exactly it will land.  If you have done the work, then you realize each jump lands you in the arms of the next Magical Muse.  This muse creates space for experimentation and creation.  She helps you pull the divine down into the material world.  This can look as simple as you taking your hobby to the next level, or as complicated as starting a new business/job.  The key is allowing and experiment with your tools to move you to the next stage of growth.

Virgo

Three of Coins – Collaboration and teamwork are the energies of ease this week.  Finding people with your common goal not only uplift you but also have vital information for you.  By fusing your energies, you create something more then you could attain this week on your own.

Libra

Four of Swords – Last week your year card of beginnings and endings foretold what 2021 will hold.  This week is about rest.  This is about spending your last week of your birth month, luxuriating.  Time for bubble baths, spa days, reading a novel, and lazing in the sun.  Your mind needs time to rest and reset for the coming year.  Turn off electronics for at least a day and relax.

Scorpio

*Devil – What an interesting card to start off your birth month. This energy is one of your karmic energies for your sign.  This coming birth year will have a lot of distractions and potholes.  However, if you use your incredible Spidey sense you can navigate it all with ease.   You can read a room well when you tune in, and you can see someone’s weakness and strengths in a glance.  These aspects will be tested this year, so one thing to do this month is have a mirror talk with yourself and ask what do you really want out of 2021? Write down your response so when a distraction pops up you can pull out your map to stay on your path.

Sagittarius

Five of Swords – Last week’s energy was about mortaring up holes in your physical realm’s foundations or dealing with an issue hanging around since May.  This week’s muse gives you another week to shore-up work.  The challenge can be your sensitivity is high with all the posturing that can is going on around you.  You cannot ignore the problems, but you also should not engage.  Your motto:  Not your monkeys, not your circus- Polish proverb.  But if they are your monkeys cleaning up after them is your responsibility.

Capricorn

*Temperance – This week’s energy is about harmony.  The key to this energy is understanding that balance is not about equal it is about appropriate amounts for a harmonious flavor.  This week work on the components and amounts of  hardship, work, play, purpose, thriving, enjoying, and healing to blend into a savory dish of life.   Your song:  A Spoonful of Sugar.

Aquarius

Nine of Wands – This energy is about meeting your goals and follow-through.  You might have to put on blinders and lock yourself in the room, for the world is very willing to distract you this week.  So, staying diligent and putting up strong boundaries is necessary to get things done.

Pisces

Seven of Wands – Ok time to fortify your defensives this week.  No joke this Mars and Mercury retro is making people just not a their best and this week you are ultra-sensitive to it.    The challenge is not taking it personally and protect your inner light from outer negativities.   This is a great time for pillow forts, ice cream, or anything lovely that can get you through this week’s negativity.